The other crowd of boys cheered, and I looked their direction. Charlotte was standing behind them in the doorway, and she waved the trophy at me. I didn’t know what she intended to do next, since she couldn’t just jump in with the four men and kill Gene without anyone else seeing her. Then the girl did the unexpected, and tossed the silver trophy into the grass ring.
“Right on!” one of the boys said as soon as he saw to trophy bounce on the grass. He reached over to the neat stack of chairs that the group stood next to, and threw one into the ring.
Mr. Hellsig was straddling Giant Gene, and the orc repeatedly slammed his ham fists down onto the face of the werewolf. It looked like Gene was about to fall unconscious, but then the werewolf brought up his furry hands to catch the orc’s and the two of them rolled onto the grass to the other side of the ring. They separated after a few seconds, and each stood to face each other again.
Both men looked tired, injured, and their punches moved out like they were trying to lazily bat away flies. I turned to Dr. King, and saw that he was trying to escape from one of Morgan’s leg locks.
“The trophy!” I shouted out to my teacher. He heard me over the roar of the cheering crowd, and he looked at the ring to see the large hunk of silver. The werewolf grabbed it, and then swung the makeshift weapon at the handsome vampire. The strike connected with Morgan’s face, and the man spun away.
“Yeeeeeaaaaallp!” Dr. King shouted as he tossed the trophy away. It was hard to see exact details because we only had the light of the full moon, but it looked as if my teacher’s hand was smoking.
“Brother, you are about to be in for a lot of hurt. Time to giant up!” The blond werewolf started to pump his arms frantically, and the boys from Lincoln High cheered.
Gene was kind of shaking, but also doing frantic bicep curls. Mr. Hellsig stepped up to him and swung out with a massive haymaker. It probably would have punched a hole through the door of the orc’s own truck, but the blond-furred werewolf didn’t even seem to feel the hit. The green-skinned man punched again, and again, but each one only seemed to make Gene pump his fists faster. It almost looked as if the werewolf was getting larger, but that was impossible.
“Brother, you are gonna pay!” Gene shouted as he wagged his finger at Mr. Hellsig.
The two men collided with the sound of a thunder clap, and it really did look like Gene was twice the size of the incredibly muscular orc. Gene wrapped his arm around my teacher, spun him upside down, and then pile drove him into the grass. The crowd of boys let out a cheer, and I felt my heart sink.
“You’ll stay down if you know what is good for you, brother!” Gene shouted as he stood. Mr. Hellsig was trying to roll on the ground, but he looked really hurt, and I could tell that the man was having problems seeing anything.
Dr. King flew at Gene, and the smaller werewolf held a chair in his hand. The steel smashed into the blonde werewolf, but it bent around his muscular form as if it was made out of a wire pipe cleaner. Gene just laughed, and then backhanded Dr. King. The attack caught my teacher off guard, and he spun through the air like a top.
“No!” I shouted as I stepped forward. I didn’t know how I could help my teachers, but it was apparent that the tide of battle had turned in Lincoln High’s favor. The toe of my shoe touched something solid when I stepped and I saw that the silver trophy had rolled to my feet.
I bent down, picked up the hunk of silver, and felt a strange power flow through the thing. I suddenly knew that this wasn’t just a hunk of silver shaped into a trophy. This was something else entirely, and it might have been the reason that everyone at school could remember my name. There was a flash of memory in my mind, like a lake, or a river, and a flock of sheep.
Less ohs.
It was a woman’s voice that echoed in my mind. Her tone sounded a bit like Charlotte’s but less sensual. Was that the name of this magical artifact? I didn’t know, but I did know that I had to save my teacher, and I stepped into the ring with the hunk of metal over my head like I would have held a thick wooden stake.
Giant Gene jumped into the air and slammed the rear side of his thigh down on Dr. King’s face. Then he stood with a triumphant shout as he raised both of his giant arms into the air. The blond werewolf gestured to his boys to cheer louder, and he cupped his hand to his ear as if he couldn’t hear them.
Dr. King was trying to get to his feet, as was Mr. Hellsig, but it looked as if both men needed a few minutes to recover. Then I saw Morgan step up to the orc, grab his hair, and lift him into a suplex position.
I drove the tip of the trophy into the vampire’s back where I thought his heart was.
The metal slid in easier that I expected. It was almost like the thing was a hot knife, and Fabulous Morgan’s body was made out of water. The vampire didn’t even scream; he just kind of evaporated into steam, which then turned into ash a half a second later.
“What did you do?” Giant Gene had moved to grab Dr. King, and both of the werewolves were staring at me with opened eyes.
I didn’t answer. Instead I forced my aching body to dash toward the big blond werewolf.
Gene let go of Dr. King’s shoulders, and he tried to swat me away, but he was moving as if he swimming through molasses, and I punched the tip of the silver metal into his chest before he could hit me.
The werewolf screamed.
The boys screamed.
Dr. King screamed.
Mr. Hellsig screamed.
I screamed.
Then I felt the world tip on end. As if it was falling into a feverish dream.
Chapter 13
“Huh?” I said as my eyelids fluttered open.
“Finally!” Charlotte said from the front seat of our car. I was lying across the back seat, and we were driving on the freeway. It looked like it was early morning, and the clock on her dashboard read 7:34 AM.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Heading south,” she answered.
“Wait. What about the werewolf? What happened?” I asked.
“You killed them both,” she answered. “Do you want to come sit up front? It will be easier to talk.”
“Uhhh, yeah,” I said as I slid between the front seats. It took me half a minute to flip myself over so that I could sit down, and I was a bit surprised by how sore I wasn’t. I should have felt like I’d been through the blender, but I only felt the kind of body aches I would have expected from a flu.
“You killed the vampire and the werewolf,” she said once I’d buckled my seatbelt.
“Oh, no. That wasn’t the mission.”
“Nope.”
“Is Satan mad?” I asked.
“Yep,” she answered.
“Uhhhh. What did he say?”
“He wants you to call him when you wake up,” she sighed.
“How did I get in the car?” I asked. “The last thing I remember is hitting Giant Gene with that hunk of metal.”
“I think Gene was actually the Alpha. When he howled it made everyone pass out. I almost did too, but I managed to grab you, and carry you back to our apartment. Then I called Satan, and he told me to get back on the road.”
“What about the trophy?” I asked.
“It is in the trunk with the rest of our stuff. I think it has magic powers. It shouldn’t have been able to kill the vampire like that. Maybe the werewolf, since it was made of silver, but the vampire wouldn’t have died like that even if you staked it through the heart.”
“How should it have died?” I asked.
“It would have moaned about its cursed existence, made some sexy sounding pants, agonized about how it was just misunderstood by everyone, talked about how much it hated Anne Rice or Stephanie Meyers, and then turned into ash,” she said.
“Really? That seems complicated,” as soon as the words left my mouth I saw the succubus girl smile, and I realized she was pulling my leg.
“Call Satan,” she commanded.
“Ugh. Can I do it later, maybe after we get breakf
ast? I am starving.”
“You might as well get it over with. You aren’t going to be able to eat thinking about the call. I’ll pull off though, so we can get a bite. Traffic is about to get bad anyways.” The succubus angled our VW Jetta off of the highway, and we spotted a gas station with attached convenience store at the first corner.
“Ugh. Okay. Here it goes,” I said as I pressed the button on my contacts for Satan. Lord of Evil and Master of Hell.
“Sherman! I was wondering how long you would sleep. I was just about to call Charlotte and ask her to give you a kiss.”
“A kiss?” I asked as I glanced at the girl sitting next to me.
“Yeah. You know in that Disney movie? The succubus wakes up the human by kissing him?”
“I don’t think that is how it goes. There was a sleeping princess and--”
“Oh! You are right, I’m thinking of the other movie. That one where the succubus wakes up the guy by kissing his--”
“Hey! I’m driving here!” Charlotte honked her horn at the big rig that almost smashed into us in the parking lot.
“What was that, Satan?” I asked him.
“What was what?” he asked.
“I didn’t catch what the succubus did to the guy to wake him up,” I said.
“Oh yeah. I was going to have Charlotte do it to you, but you are awake now! Huzaah! I’ve gotta say, I was a little upset with you both,” the Lord of Evil said.
“I’m sorry about the mission. I messed up. I know we were supposed to set the vampire up as a patsy, but--”
“Ehh. Doesn’t matter. This is actually good for my plans!”
“It is? I thought you wanted the vampires and the werewolves to war with each other?”
“Yeah, and it sounds like you may have fucked that up, but you also found something I’ve been looking for, and this is gonna make the war go a whole lot smoother.”
“Are you talking about the trophy?” I asked.
“Well, it looks like a trophy to you, but it isn’t, well maybe it could be considered a trophy for some. It will be a game changer, Sherman! I’m glad too! I was thinking I was gonna have to get all mad at you for failing this first assignment.”
“But I helped Lord Barrtazzu with--”
“Sherman, Sherman, Sherman. Secret agents are only as good as their current job. Don’t worry. You’ll be able to redeem yourself with this next one. Should be a lot easier.”
“Okay,” I sighed. “What are we doing?”
“News of the alpha and vampire’s death are going crazy like through the ranks of their army. My sources say that the supernaturals think that I have a new super soldier. They say the guy is loaded with muscles, wears dark demon armor, and carries a sword as big as he is tall and as wide as his chest. Can you believe that shit? Sounds like something out of a comic book.”
“There actually is a Japanese comic book named Berserk that--”
“So I want you to go to New Orleans and get the surprise on all the vamps there.”
“There are vampires in New Orleans?” I asked with surprise.
“Of course! Where else would they be? Sherman, sometimes I think you aren’t the most tightly packed matzo ball, if you know what I mean.”
“So we are just going to New Orleans to kill all the vampires?” I asked
“No, Sherman, that is just ridiculous. I’ve got a particular family in mind. Once they are out of the way, the supes will be really weak. Then Lucy and Gabe will make their attack. It’s gonna be great. Anyhow, give me a call when you check in. Charlotte has the address and stuff of the school, and my staff is working on getting you registered. It’s a private school this time, so you’re gonna need to buy some better clothes.”
“Uh. Okay,” I said, and I looked down at my clothes. They seemed fine, other than they were covered with some blood from when I wrestled the boys in the locker room. I probably needed to change at the gas station.
“We’ll talk later. I’m playing 7 Wonders with Eve, Lilith, and Tera. You ever played that game, Sherman?”
“Uhhh. No, is it a board game? I think I’ve heard of it,” I said.
“Tera?” Charlotte asked into the speakerphone. She had parked in front of the gas pump and turned off the engine.
“Yeah, Charlotte. I’ll tell her you said hi, but say goodbye to my ass. These women keep beating me. Bunch of fucking cheaters. That is what they are. Anyways. I gotta get back in there. Toodles!” The line went dead, and I looked at the purple-eyed succubus girl.
“Should we go eat? Do we need gas?” I asked.
“Yes and yes,” she said with a sigh. “I can go get the food, if you’ll pump the gas. Do you have some cash?”
“I have some in my wallet.” I unlocked the door, and then went to open it, but Charlotte’s fingers grabbed onto my shoulder. Her movement surprised me, and I almost jumped out of my skin.
“Sherman,” she whispered. “I, uhhh. You did great in the locker room.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, ummm.” Charlotte looked into my eyes and then glanced down to where her hands touched my arm. “I thought that I’d have to save you. I would have, but you took care of yourself.”
“Well, I got mad when I thought about what they wanted to do to you--”
“That wasn’t going to happen. I could have killed them all easily. I just didn’t want to show my true form with the angel girls watching.”
“Oh. Okay. Good.”
“Did you… uh, like those girls?” she asked.
“What do you mean? Like for a girlfriend? They were all really nice.”
“Yeah. They were angels. They are supposed to be nice,” she looked at me again, and part of her mouth turned into a bit of a smile, “did you want to go out with any of them? They were all pretty.”
“Charlotte, girls don’t really like me.” I shrugged. “They thought I was a big video game pro because you lied to them.”
“They seemed friendly. They approached us to talk before I even spun that story.”
“Yeah, but they only wanted to hang out with me because they thought I was this hero.”
“You are a hero,” the succubus said, and our eyes met again.
“I work for Satan. He wants me to go kill vampires. We came to our last school to kill Dr. King, who is a nice guy.” I suddenly felt a pang of sadness in my chest. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Mr. Hellsig or Dr. King, or my wrestling teammates. Everyone at this school had been so nice. I was going to miss them.
And yeah, it had been kind of fun to hang out with three beautiful angel girls. I knew that they didn’t really like me, but it was fun to pretend for a bit.
“Why are you working for Satan?” she asked, and her purple eyes drifted away from me again.
“Because he’ll kill me if I don’t.” I laughed. “And, I, uhhh. Want your freedom.”
“Yes, I remember you said that when we were in hell. What if you could just ghost though?”
“Ghost? What do you mean?” I asked.
“Just walk away. I’ve got a suitcase full of money. You can take it, and go wherever you want.”
“I can’t do that. Satan will find me.”
“Sherman,” the succubus sighed and smiled at me again. “Satan can’t find you. I got lucky. If I lose track of you on Earth he would never find you again. That is your magic.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“Forget about me,” she said as she turned to look out the front of the car window. The gas station wasn’t that busy, so no one had honked their horn at us for not filling up yet.
“I can never forget about you, Charlotte. I love you. You are smart, kind, charming, and beautiful. I want to be with you, even though you might not feel the same. It just feels right being near you. I want to get your freedom from Satan. Even if he offers me ninety-nine succubi, I just want you.” The words poured from my mouth and I realized that the last time I’d told the girl about my feelings she had emotionally withdrawn from
me.
Her eyes met mine, and there was a bit of anger there. The emotion surprised me, and I knew that I’d fucked up again. Damn it. I was always saying the wrong thing to her.
“What if I don’t love you?” she hissed, and I felt my heart turn to ice. I almost gasped, and I had to blink a few times to fight against the tears.
“It doesn’t matter. I still love you.”
Her lips were on mine suddenly. It was a savage kiss, and my brain exploded with too many sensations too quickly. My tongue touched hers for half a second, and she let out a soft moan into my mouth.
Then she pulled away, and her purple eyes glowed with rage.
“Idiot! Stupid human! Arrrrgh! Get gas! I’m going inside for food. Dummy! Ugh!” The succubus said a few other words in a language that sounded like a song being played in reverse, and then she practically kicked open the door of the car before she got out.
I watched her stomp across the concrete space to the convenience store. She walked by a tall, ugly troll looking man loitering in front of the place. He said something to her that I couldn’t hear, but I saw her growl and hiss at the man. His face turned as white as a sheet, and he covered his head as if he feared that Charlotte would rip it from his neck and drop kick it. The succubus turned around to glare at me one last time, saw I was still in the car, and made a gesture that looked like putting a gas nozzle in a tank. Then she turned away from me and stamped into the store.
“Jeeze. I really don't understand her,” I sighed as I got out of the car. My lips still tingled from our kiss, and I reached the tips of my fingers to touch them.
Even though she was mad at me, I couldn’t stop from smiling.
End of book 3
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Sherman’s wacky adventures continue in Vampire! Hell High Book 4.
Werewolf!: Hell High Book 3 Page 14